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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24010846">Puzzle Pieces</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tetskuroo/pseuds/tetskuroo'>tetskuroo</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!! Soulmates [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Multi, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:15:09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,278</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24010846</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tetskuroo/pseuds/tetskuroo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kuroo Tetsurou is born with three soulmates and he is determined to meet them all, no matter how long it takes.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Bokuto Koutarou/Kuroo Tetsurou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!! Soulmates [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736380</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>371</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Puzzle Pieces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Kuroo Tetsurou was never really sure when the marks appeared on his skin - he just remembers waking up one day with not just <em>one,</em> not just <em>two,</em> but <em>three</em> soulmate marks on his body. His mother had been worried - she'd never seen a case like this in her life - and took him to the doctor. And, while the doctor was just as shocked as she was, nothing was actually <em>wrong; </em>Tetsurou had three soulmates, and that was that. </p>
<p>While it was odd, he didn't think much about it; it would be a lot to take on, if he was lucky enough to meet and court all three of the people he was meant to be with, but it would be exciting too! Being with three people, loving three people - his mother had always said that he had too big of a heart, and now he was going to have three people to share it with.</p>
<p>Tetsurou's mother was always the perfect support too, even though she and Tetsurou's father had been soulmates and it never worked out. She always made sure that Tetsurou knew that it wasn't usually that way, and she helped assure Tetsurou that his heart was big enough to help him make anyone fall in love, especially the three people that were meant to be his soulmates. And he believed her; he'd always been good at grabbing stranger's attention and turning those strangers into friends (exhibit A Kozume Kenma). </p>
<p>So even though one of his marks was in a weird spot he was optimistic; it would be easy to find out a stranger's name and see if they were one of his soulmates. It would be even easier once he had found one of his soulmates, because they would probably share the same three marks as him, right? And if not, Tetsurou was still up for the search - he wanted to find them all, that was the number one goal he had in life. </p>
<p><em>A.K.</em> on his left wrist, <em>B.K.</em> on his right, and <em>T.K.</em> right over his heart. They were all in the same font and same size which made Tetsurou believe that it meant they were all supposed to be together, a group of four. After some research, Tetsurou found out that them all being the same text font and size meant that's how it was going to be; all four of them together, not only Tetsurou with three soulmates, but three other people out there made for the relationship that Tetsurou was made for. </p>
<p>He fell asleep every night thinking about them, about who they could be, fantasizing their names. Would they be boys or girls? A mix of both? Short or tall? Quiet or obnoxious? Japanese or another nationality? <em>No matter what</em>, Tetsurou told himself, <em>I'm gonna do anything I can for them.</em></p>
<hr/>
<p>Come training camp his first year in high school, he met his first soulmate - Bokuto Koutarou, the initials on his right wrist. Koutarou had the same other initials spanning his body - <em>A.K.</em> on his left wrist and <em>T.K.</em> over his heart. They'd both rejoiced then, and quickly gotten to know each other. </p>
<p>And, while Tetsurou knew that someday, some way, he would find at least one of his soulmates, it felt<em> amazing</em> to finally have someone to fantasize with, and Koutarou wanted to talk about the other two just as much as Tetsurou did. They had their fun, getting to know each other and figure each other out, but they also spent hours lying in Tetsurou's bed, looking at the ceiling and just talking about their other soulmates. Were they younger or older? Did they play volleyball or not? Were they happy in their lives, at their homes? Were they happy that they had three soulmates, three people they didn't know that they were destined to be with? </p>
<p>"I really can't wait to meet them," Koutarou mumbled. They were on Tetsurou's bed as usual, Tetsu down on his back, shirt off, with Koutarou sitting on his lap. He had his left wrist set on Tetsurou's chest, the initials for <em>A.K</em>. on his wrist lying next to the initials for <em>T.K.</em> on Tetsurou's chest. He had drawn hearts around all of Tetsu's marks, and Tetsu had done the same to him, and while it made him feel happy to be here and to be happy with Tetsurou, he was still missing pieces of himself. </p>
<p>"I can't either," Tetsu agreed, closing his eyes to imagine what it would be like. He had no idea who they were or what they looked like, but he liked to imagine him and Koutarou annoying two other people forever, and the two other people loving the goofballs no matter what. </p>
<p>As the months passed, their wishing got more and more in depth; Tetsurou fantasizing about how they would manage four person dates without getting kicked out of restaurants for being too obnoxious, Koutarou talking about how they would all get married, once marriage along the lines of their relationship was legal where they lived. Because even though soulmates knew no gender it was still a sin where they lived. He hoped they could all one day walk down the isle together, in a group or in pairs, all meeting together, promising to love each other for the rest of their lives, no matter the struggle. </p>
<p>And while they kept each other going throughout it all, they couldn't wait to see what came next - who came next. </p>
<hr/>
<p>Who came next was indeed a surprise to both of the males. </p>
<p>Koutarou met Akaashi first, at the first volleyball practice of Koutarou's second year. He had only known him by Akaashi, so he didn't think much at first except for how <em>pretty</em> the first year was. He had noticed the bands around Akaashi's wrists later, but decided not to push for more of an explanation when the first year said it was none of Koutarou's business what lied underneath the fabric. He took it like that, laughing it off, and then moved on for the rest of practice. As much as he wanted to hope and dream, Koutarou remembered what Tetsurou had told him; <em>'Don't get your hopes up, Kou, we don't wanna get disappointed.'</em></p>
<p>He tried his hardest not to look at Akaashi at all, tried his best to ignore the fleeting glances towards his own two wrist tattoos he could feel coming from the setter, he ignored it all. He hit spike after spike, made in serve after serve, and put all of his energy into volleyball - it's what he was good at.</p>
<p>At the end of practice, while they were all getting changed in the locker room, he forced himself to act normal - he was feeling down because what if Akaashi was it? What if the <em>A.K.</em> on left wrist stood for <em>Akaashi something or other</em>, and Akaashi was another part of the fucked up puzzle that was Koutarou's soulmates? He was imagining it now, Akaashi with Tetsurou in Koutarou's arms, the three of them searching for their fourth member, the three of them <em>happy</em>. He was imagining hitting Akaashi's sets for the rest of his life, and he was hurting his own feelings because-</p>
<p>"Bokuto-San?" </p>
<p>Koutarou snapped out of his thoughts, and looked up to meet Akaashi's eyes, a concerned look in the younger male's eyes. "Ah, sorry Akaashi! Were you saying something? I was a little lost in my thoughts!" </p>
<p>"I was thinking-" Akaashi cut himself off, seemingly changing his mind. He thought for a moment, and Koutarou took this time to really look at Akaashi. Dark hair and dark eyes, and he looked pretty uninterested, but throughout the hours of practice Koutarou couldn't recall him really giving a facial reaction to anything. He had light skin, appearing smooth everywhere Koutarou had seen and- was he blushing? "I was wondering if you were okay, you seem pretty distracted." </p>
<p>And Koutarou felt his heart sink, but he couldn't figure out why. Was he expecting a confession? How pathetic of him. He forced a smile though, and pushed through. "Yeah I'm fine, thank you for checking though, Akaashi!" </p>
<p>Akaashi didn't look convinced, but he brushed it off. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow then, Bokuto-San." </p>
<p>"Yeah," Koutarou agreed quietly once Akaashi had already walked away. He pulled out his phone when he was alone, and dialed the number of the one person that could cheer him up right now. </p>
<p>"Kou?" </p>
<p>As he expected, even just his nickname from the voice of his soulmate brought a smile to his face. "Tetsu, hey." </p>
<p>"What happened? You sound sad."</p>
<p>And Koutarou laughed, because of course Tetsurou could tell, he knew Koutarou almost better than Koutarou knew himself, even after only a year. "I hurt my own feelings, I think."</p>
<p>There was no laugh, no sigh of disappointment like Koutarou was expecting. Just sweet, sappy Tetsurou. "Awe Kou I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do to help? Do you want to come over?" </p>
<p>And Koutarou laughed, a really, hearty laugh and let himself smile. Akaashi was beautiful, but if he wasn't made for the eccentric relationship Koutarou and Tetsurou were made to end up with, then he would just have to face it. "Yeah, I'll be there soon." </p>
<hr/>
<p>It was a month later that Akaashi finally came clean. </p>
<p>It was a long month, of Koutarou secretly checking Akaashi out. He was trying to get a look at his wrists, his chest, and even his face because - let's face it - Akaashi is beautiful, soulmates be damned. Koutarou tried to argue after finding out Akaashi's given name was Keiji that he just had to be it, but Tetsurou helped talk sense in to him and Koutarou repeated the words in his head until they were his first thought when he laid eyes on Keiji; if he is their soulmate then one day they'll know, and until then be patient. After he calmed down on the soulmate topic, they became closer.</p>
<p>Keiji was improving his skills as the month went on, working hard to become the starting setter. He had learned the ins and outs of all of his teammates in record time, and even started to understand Koutarou's downswings and all the ways to go about dealing with them. And, though the odds were against him he did it - Keiji became the starting setter for Fukurodani in his first year.</p>
<p>They were out to celebrate, the main group of the team going out to grab ice cream cones on their way out of practice to commemorate the day, and Keiji had been left alone with Koutarou by the end of it. They were walking towards the subway station in peace, Koutarou quietly enjoying the sunshine shinning down on them. </p>
<p>"Bokuto-San," Keiji said, quiet enough that Koutarou almost didn't hear him, and then he didn't wait for a reply, "I think you're my soulmate." </p>
<p>Koutarou came to a halt, every part of his body frozen from the words. He'd even forgotten to breathe because he couldn't have heard him right, right? "What?!" Koutarou exclaimed finally, and Keiji flushed. </p>
<p>"Bokuto-San, please keep your voice down," Keiji pleaded, because he wasn't necessarily shy but <em>everyone</em> on the sidewalk had their eyes on the two high school boys.</p>
<p>"But you - did you just say that -"</p>
<p>"Yes, Bokuto-San, I think you're one of my soulmates." </p>
<p>And that had Koutarou reeling. "One of?" the elder male yelled again, and Keiji decided he was over the embarrassment, because seeing Koutarou so happy was refreshing. </p>
<p>"Can we go talk about this some other place, Bokuto-San? I didn't mean to say it in such a public setting - I was hoping to have some time alone with you after practice but-"</p>
<p>Koutarou was pulling out his phone, a large smile on his face. "Tetsurou, hey I don't have much time to explain but I'm gonna come over with a friend, okay? Yeah we will be there as quickly as possible!" He hung up without giving Tetsurou any time to argue, gently grabbed Keiji's hand, and started running towards the station. Keiji knew arguing was useless, and watched ahead as Koutarou ran ahead of him, allowing a small smile to grow on his lips; he could get used to this. </p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>They were at Tetsurou's house shortly thereafter, Keiji profusely apologizing for the intrusion. Koutarou on the other hand just took off his shoes and ran in to hug Tetsurou's mother before the three boys were heading upstairs to Tetsurou's room. </p>
<p>"So," Tetsurou said awkwardly from his spot on the floor. The other two were sat down there with him, Koutarou radiating energy that neither of the other men could begin to understand. "Care to explain?" </p>
<p>And Koutarou turned to Keiji expectantly, his face reading <em>'tell him.'</em></p>
<p>So, Keiji did. He looked to Tetsurou and said he was another piece of their puzzle, taking off the bands on his wrists to show <em>B.K.</em> on his left and <em>K.T.</em> on his right. He pulled down the collar of his shirt far enough for them to see the <em>T.K.</em> over his heart, and he barely had time to raise it before he was tackled into a hug. He was surprised at the sudden force knocking him onto his back, but he was even more surprised when he noticed the two older males were <em>crying</em>, both smiling wide with tears rolling down their faces. </p>
<p>He realized then that, while his soulmate marks had never meant much to him, they meant the world to the other two. Koutarou wanted to meet them all, be with them all, marry them all, and Tetsurou was right along with him. Keiji believed in love outside of soulmates because he was a realist; the probability of finding one person in the world made for you was incredulous, but finding all three of them was - well it seemed impossible. But Tetsurou and Koutarou, they were hopeless romantics, dreaming of living in a small cottage with lots of cats and their three soulmates, and Keiji couldn't help but smile. </p>
<p>Koutarou noticed, and pointed it out immediately, never seeing Keiji smile so real before. "I'm very happy to have found you Bokuto-San, and you too Kuroo-San." The tears started again. </p>
<p>The two Fukurodani players stayed as late as they could, all of them talking about life and their relationship. Handling the jealousy and the fact that Testurou wouldn't be a part of a lot of things because he went to a different school would be hard, but Koutarou and Keiji both promised that they would try their hardest to make him feel cared about, and he promised the same. After that night, on their ride home - graciously provided by Tetsurou's mother - Keiji started wondering too, what their other puzzle piece would be like. </p>
<p>Would they be someone to help Keiji handle the other two? Or would they be just as hot headed and boisterous, another person to help drive Keiji to the brink of insanity? Would they be a realist like Keiji, doubtful of it all, or a hopeless romantic, set on making life as happy as possible with their significant others? Did they want this? Did they want the hassle of three other people to be with, to grow with, to be jealous of? Were they tired of the marks on their body? Did they want to scrub them away and only leave one? Or end up with none at all?</p>
<p>And why, Keiji wondered most, could he not get the negative questions out of his head? </p>
<hr/>
<p>By the time they met the fourth puzzle piece they'd all been together for a little over a year. </p>
<p>It had been tough, getting used to each other and learning each other's ticks and they were by no means perfect, but they were getting there. They worked hard to make sure that everyone felt loved, everyone felt cared about and heard, everyone knew they were safe in their relationship no matter what the world was throwing at them, and it worked. They'd learned about Koutarou's mood swings and what helped him when he felt particularly down, they'd worked out how to break Keijii's shell, to get him to open up, and they had learned how to get Tetsurou to relax, to stop trying so hard because he was doing just fine, and stressing just fucked up his sleep schedule and made it hard for him to eat. </p>
<p>All in all they were doing well, but they were working their hardest to find their fourth member - their missing piece. </p>
<hr/>
<p>Training camp in the big city didn't sound appealing to Kei at all - it was hotter there than it was in the country, and he didn't want to spend his break sweating everyday in a stuffy gym with tens of other boys. He went though, because he liked volleyball enough to not want to quit, and prepared for the worst. The last time they went for a couple days wasn't terrible, but this time around everyone else had more of a flare around them, determined to learn and grow and <em>win,</em> and it all just pissed Kei off. </p>
<p>The worst part by far was the bus ride - he had accidentally left his headphones in the bag placed in the under storage of the bus, so he was stuck listening to all the chatter of the other members, even though it was so early in the morning. Noya and Tanaka were up 'whispering' to each other about how excited they were for the chance to grow stronger, and Suga and Daichi were at the front of the bus going over the synchronized attack list - <em>again. </em></p>
<p>Kei was awake because he didn't have music to drown out the noise so he was stuck listening instead. They chatter had been boring until Noya gasped loudly and pointed at something on his phone before showing it to Tanaka. "Woah look at this!" </p>
<p>Kei couldn't see the post, but he figured it was some volleyball trick or some cute girl. He was proven wrong when Tanaka replied. "Is that the captain for Fukurodani? He's one of the top five in the nation, right?" </p>
<p>"Yeah! And, I heard his has<em> three</em> soulmate marks!" </p>
<p>"Three? No way! Man, how lucky!" </p>
<p>Kei tuned out the rest of the conversation, his blood running cold. He'd heard before of course, from Tadashi after the last time they came to train here. Something about how the captain of Fukurodani was soulmates with his setter and the captain of Nekoma, and they all had another mark they were looking for the owner of. Tadashi brought it up with a purpose, being the only person outside of Kei's immediate family that knew of the marks that resided on his body. Tadashi wanted to change the way Kei saw it, wanted to make him happy about his marks, wanted to give him hope that his soulmates were out there - <em>'What a load of bullshit,'</em> Kei had thought to himself. </p>
<p>Hearing it now, knowing the others on the team had heard of the rumor too made Kei feel like he needed to be more careful; one small slip and it could all be over, his perfect world of solitude could be ruined by questions and comments, everyone wondering what it was like to be in his place. </p>
<p>They didn't want to know. They didn't want to know because the answer isn't what they wanted it to be - it fucking sucks. For some reason looking at the three marks on his skin made Kei feel more alone than he usually felt. <em>'Soulmates.'</em> The term was a load of garbage. How were there not one, not two, but three people out there, 'destined' to be with Kei, and he still endured everything in his life alone? That's what soulmates were for right? To be there for you, through thick and thin, sickness and in health, blah blah blah; it was all bullshit. </p>
<p>He watched his mom since he was a kid - she would space off sometimes, her eyes locked onto the initials sketched onto her forearm with a longing, wishing that she had met her soulmate because maybe her life would have been different. She wouldn't be a single mother now of two kids that turned out to be nothing like she expected - one a timid, people pleasing man and the other a recluse, not letting anyone in no matter how hard they tried. Maybe, if she had met her soulmate, she would have settled down before having kids and everything would be more normal. Her kids could have had a normal childhood, with two happy parents, and all would have been happily ever after. </p>
<p>Kei shook his head, tired of thinking about it, and looked over to his best friend - his only friend. Tadashi was awake too, looking at his phone with love in his eyes, texts from his soulmate on the screen. His soulmate was none other than Kozume Kenma, the setter for Nekoma, and though Tadashi and Kenma were very different, they were perfect together. Happy as could be, understood each other's needs, pushed each other to be better - things Kei could never dream of having for himself. How do you achieve peace between <em>four</em> people? </p>
<p>He elbowed his friend softly, trying not to jostle him too much when he was literally on cloud 9. Tadashi looked to Kei and took one earphone out of his ear, wondering what Kei had to say. "Can I use your headphones? I left mine in my other bag," he admitted quietly, and Tadashi looked confused. He was about to ask why until he heard Nishinoya's and Tanaka's conversation, the two still going on and on about Bokuto and his three soulmates and how lucky he was. </p>
<p>"Of course, Tsukki," Tadashi said, smile on his face. He pulled the earphones out of the phone jack and handed them to his best friend, never losing the smile on his face. </p>
<p>Kei accepted them with a nod, rushing to get them in his ears to listen to anything other than his senpai talking about the three people that were - more likely than not - his soulmates. "Thank you," he said quietly, because Tadashi deserved it - as his only friend Tadashi put up with a lot, and he deserved the best Kei could give him. </p>
<p>"No problem, Tsukki, I hope they suffice!" </p>
<p>Kei was going to reply, say they were better than nothing, but he had a bitter taste in his mouth from listening to his senpai talk and he wanted nothing more than to block them out. So he just nodded to Tadashi and picked his loudest playlist, turning the volume as loud as it would go. It wasn't as loud as he was used to, but it did the job in blocking out the soulmate talk from his senpai. He let the words take over his mind, and he switched his train of thought to something other than destiny and soulmates.</p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>So yeah, Tsukishima Kei knew that the probability of the three being his soulmates was high; he had found out the full names of the captains - Kuroo Tetsurou and Bokuto Koutarou - from some volleyball website the was solely based in Tokyo, so he knew that they matched two of the three marks on his body. The third one was a close fit too. He only knew Akaashi as Akaashi, but he figured that the odds weren't too far off and the three were who he was meant to be with. </p>
<p>He ignored it though and treated them like any other opponents he would encounter; he didn't make eye contact and showed no interest, even when he couldn't block Bokuto's spikes and got his own spikes blocked by Kuroo. It was the normal game, and Kei felt nothing more for the three people that were probably destined to be with him - he had no intentions of letting them figure him out. Yeah, the bandages on his wrists probably gave something away, but he acted as if they weren't there and continued on as normal.</p>
<p>Well, until they persuaded him into practicing with him. </p>
<p>If you asked him in the future Kei would tell you that it had nothing to do with the marks on his body and all to do with the way that Tetsurou and Koutarou had teased and taunted him into the extra practice, but in all reality he was curious about the three people he was meant to be with. And, after the first night he wasn't impressed. </p>
<p>They had poked and prodded at him, compared him to Hinata to piss him off enough for him to care even less about them being his soulmates. So what if they were meant to be with him, Kei thought on his way to the bath, knee pads clutched in one hand and a towel in the other. They were pushy and annoying, nothing but volleyball on their brains. </p>
<p>The next night, though, he sought them out for some kind of answer. </p>
<p>Koutarou had answered as honest as he seemed, Tetsurou agreeing with a large smirk on his face. Kei couldn't help but think that he would love to smack that smirk off of Tetsurou's face, or maybe block well enough that Tetsurou would be surprised enough to keep his mouth shut for a little while. It seemed unlikely, but Kei could hope, right?</p>
<p>Practice passed and Kei found himself actually enjoying it, as much as he didn't want to admit it. They'd worked well enough to shut out a couple of Koutarou's spikes, even Keiji appearing to be surprised that the others could shut his partner out. </p>
<p>And, throughout it all, Kei could see the relationship aspect between the three of them. They acted like they cared for each other beyond volleyball; every time Tetsurou shut down a block he made sure to praise Koutarou and Keiji on their plays, and the two made sure to do the same when Koutarou made it passed Tetsurou's blocks. It was heartwarming and nauseating all the same to Kei because how could they care about each other and volleyball so much? How could they stand against each other when they were all meant to be? By now he had seen the marks spanning all of their wrists, each other's initials scattered throughout the three of them, and it made him feel a little sick to his stomach - they looked a lot like his. He excused himself early again that night when the other members of Nekoma flooded in again, and made his way to the bath. Maybe, just maybe, if he scrubbed hard enough he could take the marks off of his body. </p>
<p>*****</p>
<p>On the second to last night of the training camp Keiji talked to him alone. They'd practiced together four nights in a row now, four nights for Kei to see their behavior, four nights for Kei to imagine what life would maybe be like if he let himself get caught up with them. He immediately shook those thoughts when they started, reminding himself that he didn't need soulmates, didn't need love. He was alone, and he would be happy alone, and that was that. </p>
<p>Keiji came to him, though, and tore it all down. He followed Kei out after he left the extra practice, telling Tetsurou and Koutarou that he had to use the restroom and he would be back. Instead he had followed Kei out to talk to him, determination filling him. </p>
<p>"Akaashi-San?" Kei asked, surprised that he was being followed - he felt his gut fill with unease.</p>
<p>"I think you know why I followed you so I'm going to get right to the point," Keijii said, looking Kei deep in his eyes. "I believe you are the last of my soulmates - the missing piece to our puzzle, as the other two would say." Kei wanted to run, to hide away so that nobody could find him, so he would never have to bring this up again, but he was stuck. Keiji knew his secret, and it was time to figure it out.</p>
<p>"What about it?" He asked, trying to force an angry expression on his face, even though he just felt so scared. </p>
<p>Keijii sighed and took a moment to think before speaking. "Look, I'm not gonna force you to admit it, or tell the others about it - they're clueless still because they don't know your given name and haven't paid attention to your bandages because I distracted them," the second year admitted, still staring into Kei's soul. "However," he continued, a serious look on his face, "they'll learn this someday, and I won't be able to stop them from harassing you when they do."</p>
<p>Kei felt himself growing angry, and though Keiji was the last person he felt anger towards he took it out on him. "If you guys were meant for me then why haven't you been there for me? If some sick, twisted god had a good time match making people then why do they put people through what they do? I waited for you guys to help me, to get me out of my mind and for what?" Kei's voice was echoing a bit, but he didn't notice - he was fuming. "Why are soulmates a thing if people never get to meet them? If they spend their whole lives suffering, wondering what could have been?" His mom's face flashed through his mind and that was the final straw. "Fuck soulmates is what I think! It's nothing personal Akaashi-San, but I would be much happier if I had been born with no soulmate marks on my body!" </p>
<p>Keiji was a little surprised but he didn't let it phase him - he had already figured that Kei was like him. That he was a realist, that he was skeptical of the soulmate situation in general, as Keiji had been before Bokuto-San and Kuroo-San had stepped into his life. And so, he decided to be honest. "I'm not here to force you, Tsukishima," he started, trying to keep Kei reeled in as long as he could, "but I want to tell you that I was like you too, before I met them. I thought it was stupid, useless, pathetic of everyone to believe in soulmates when the probability of finding them was so small, and the probability of falling in love with them was even smaller." Keiji paused, a small smile crossing his face. "But they, Koutarou and Tetsurou, they are willing to sacrifice anything in this world to make me happy, to make each other happy, and they are determined enough to cross the world to find you, to make sure you're happy where you are." </p>
<p>Kei was looking at his feet, his hands balled into fists. He wanted to believe it so bad, wanted to believe that what he craved was out there, but did he deserve that? "I don't believe for a second that three people were made to love me and me to love them - no matter what the marks on my body say. Soulmates are a fluke, nothing more than false hope in the world for people to believe in. I appreciate you trying, Akaashi-San, but nothing could make me believe that Kuroo-San or Bokuto-San or even you could love me - it just doesn't seem like it could work to me." </p>
<p>"I understand that," Keijii said, and Kei could tell that the older boy wasn't lying. "I thought before this too that there was no way at all for this to turn out right, for us all to be happy together. But Tetsurou and Koutarou have proved me wrong, they have showed me that no matter what, through thick and thin they would do whatever they could to support me. Yeah, they can be air-headed, and they are both hopeless romantics, but they are genuine - they care about each other, and they care about me, and they care about <em>T.K.</em>, whoever it is, and I think it is you." </p>
<p>Kei was quiet because there was no arguing anymore - Keiji had followed him to state facts, and Kei was caught in a trap. He still wasn't being forced to agree, wasn't being coerced into falling into a relationship. It was just Keiji speaking the truth, and Kei couldn't argue no matter how hard he tried. </p>
<p>"You don't have to, but think about it, Kei," Keiji said, and Kei's heart stopped at the use of his given name. "I used to do that too, cover the marks on my wrists so nobody would know if they were made for me - it's suffocating." Incredibly so, Kei thought in response, not letting the response escape his mouth. "Tetsurou and Koutarou made me feel loved, and welcome, and even though I've worried time and time again about how our other soulmate would handle this I was at ease because they are working so hard for this I'm sure that no matter what, whoever thy are, our fourth member will be happy." Keiji stepped forward, grabbing Kei's hand. "I think you're here, Tsukishima Kei," the second year mumbled, bringing Kei's hand to his chest. "I think you're here and I think that maybe, if you'd let your guard down and learn more about Tetsurou and Koutarou and I, you could end up really happy with us."</p>
<p>And how lucky was Kei to have someone like Keiji as his soulmate, someone so open and honest with him, someone that thought as he did. "I don't think," Kei started quietly, his hand still against Keiji's chest, "I don't think I'm ready for all of this," he admitted, his hand balling up Keiji's practice shirt. </p>
<p>"That's understandable," Keiji said, a small smile crossing his face. "I didn't tell Koutarou until after a month of knowing him because I was too scared - and I still am, but being together makes it easier." Kei let his hand drop back to his side, thoughts flooding his mind. </p>
<p>"Can I just start with you?" Kei asked quietly, though he knew it wasn't fair. "Not a romantic relationship, but can we talk?" </p>
<p>Keiji nodded. "But I won't lie to them about talking to you if they ask," Keiji said, a serious look on his face. "They may seem steady emotionally but they're human too - Koutarou has bad downswings and Tetsurou never feelings like he is good enough for us, so I won't lie to them if they ask who I'm talking to. They don't deserve that." Kei nodded in understanding, shocked at the information Keiji was sharing. "I won't tell them that you're our soulmate until you're ready though." </p>
<p>"What if I'm never ready?" </p>
<p>Keijii shrugged, "we will cross that bridge when we get there." There was a bout of silence, and Keiji let his eyes drift down to Kei's wrists, and the younger male held up his left wrist. </p>
<p>"You can look if you want," Kei said quietly, nervousness growing in his stomach. "This one is yours." </p>
<p>Keiji slowly peeled back the bandage wrapped around Kei's left wrist until it was on the ground in between them and Keiji could see the letters on the skin he uncovered - <em>A.K.</em> to match the one on Tetsurou's and Koutarou's bodies. Keiji smiled, his eyes moving to meet Kei's. The younger male was looking away, eyes cast to the side because this was almost too intimate for him to handle, Keiji looking at his wrist like he had just found buried treasure. </p>
<p>"Your's is here," Keiji said quietly, and that got Kei's attention. Keiji pulled the collar of his shirt down on the left side enough that Kei could see the small initials over his heart.</p>
<p>
  <em>T.K. - that was him. </em>
</p>
<p>Kei didn't know what to say, staring at the mark on Keiji's chest. It was surreal, seeing the mark that showed he belonged somewhere, that he belonged with someone. "It's in the same spot on Tetsurou and Koutarou as well," he told Kei. The first year nodded, having nothing to say anymore. The anxiety had subsided and he was stuck thinking about what was to come next, what his life would be if he decided to let himself get caught up with his three soulmates or how it would be if he shut them out and left them without him. </p>
<p>"Come on," Keiji said, bending over to pick the bandage up off the ground. He handed it back to Kei, a soft smile on his face. "Try not to think about it too much right now, okay? We need to go eat and bathe, and I've got to go talk to our soulmates - they may not have noticed how long I've been gone yet, but if they have they must be worried." </p>
<p>"Keiji!!" </p>
<p>"Speak of the devils," he mumbled. "You go, I'll give you my number tomorrow, okay? Don't let them see you without that on your they'll get suspicious." Keiji turned away from him, walking towards his other two soulmates who were running from gym room to gym room looking for the second year.</p>
<p>"Akaashi-San," Kei said, and Keiji turned around to face him. "Thank you." </p>
<p>Keiji smiled, "thank you for trusting me." </p>
<p>And then Kei was left alone, walking away from Keiji while he re-wrapped his left wrist. His stomach was full of butterflies, and it felt hard to breathe, but it wasn't a bad feeling.</p>
<p>Could he one day end up happy with the four of them? Would they accept him and his mental illness? Would they learn to love him too? Could they make him feel loved? Could he make them feel loved? </p>
<p>Only time would tell.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for reading!! I am thinking of making a part two to this, so keep an eye out if you're interested :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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